The present invention relates to pressure vessels used to protect electronic or fiber optical components use in connection with fiber optic arrays such as those used in connection with down hole drilling environments in which the vessel must withstand both extremely high pressure and high temperature.
Pressure vessels presently designed for oceanographic research under conditions of high hydrostatic pressure typically employ O-ring seals. Such seals are conventionally xe2x80x9cpistonxe2x80x9d type or xe2x80x9ccompressionxe2x80x9d type seals. Such vessels have been employed to reach ocean depths such as the Mariana""s Trench which is 36,000 feet deep. At such depths pressures of 18,000 psi must be accommodated. The design of the subject pressure vessel required that the pressure vessel withstand pressures in an oil well drill hole of 10,000 psi but with the added requirement of temperatures that reached 200 degrees centigrade. The package was required to protect an optical component at these temperatures. Fiber optic leads from the components had to be protected and permitted to extend through openings in the package.
At pressures as high as those required, water can wick into the interior of the pressure vessel containing the optical components to be protected. O-rings can be forced out of protected regions where gaps exist.
U.S. Pat Nos. 2,547,521; 3,381,842; and 3,410,442 show packages for use in withstanding high internal pressures. Since such vessels are adapted to withstand high internal pressures, they do not provide a solution for a package that will withstand high external pressures.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,344,912; 3,358,902 and 4,226,327 show the use of heat shrinkable materials used to seal end portions of packages (e.g. food containers) or to provide an outer covering for a package. They do not teach a solution for a package that is used at extremely high pressure and temperature.